Spring is here and that means being able to finally give your feet some well deserved fresh air after being crammed into boots all winter long. Today's indie designer, Jan Hansen of Jewels By Jan, designs fabulous footless sandals that will have you ready for spring break or the perfect beach wedding in an instant.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work. I'm recently re-married, living in beautiful San Diego and working full time for a clinical research organization. Designing beaded foot jewelry for my own company Jewels By Jan is what I do nights and weekends. My sister Pat and I are partners in the business. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa, where I'm originally from, but the distance has never been an issue (thanks to cell phones and the Internet). When we handle orders for our barefoot sandals, she ships to the eastern half of the U.S. and I ship to the western half and we both take turns with international orders. We've been creating original designs for over five years. I've always been a creative person -– I do calligraphy, scrapbooking, rubber-stamping and now work with Swarovski crystals, pearls and glass beads. I created our Save the Date cards, wedding invitations and made all the wedding favors for our wedding on 7-7-07. I really enjoy all types of creative pursuits.

How did you get started as a designer? The idea to design barefoot sandals began in 2003 when a friend brought back a pair of barefoot sandals from Cancun. I've always loved going to the beach so when I saw the sandals I thought they were very unique. When I tried them on I really loved how they looked but ... they were missing something. If I were to make them I would use the smallest beads possible at the toe. This sandal had thick beads. (I know people who are uncomfortable having something between their toes.) I knew that seed beads are so small they would work perfectly. Another change I envisioned was to make the sandal more feminine –- maybe even glitzy. Women love things that sparkle so replacing wood beads with glass beads and crystals would be in my "design plan". Finally, I felt that the sandals needed something more, something that would tie the whole design together ... a focal point or centerpiece. The perfect answer was a shank button and I knew that there had to be a multitude of beautiful shank buttons out there! So that was how I began designing sole-less sandals -– I took an idea, added my own personal touch and the Jewels by Jan foot jewelry with the "medallion-in-the-middle" (our very own distinctive look) became our signature design.

What inspires your work? Most of our design ideas come from the latest trends, color combinations and themes for beach weddings. I also try to stay informed of all wedding-related news, popular beach wedding locations, traditions, etc. We learned early in our business that beach weddings were our niche market simply because when you're in the sand, wearing shoes is just not practical. I suppose you could wear flip flops but there's just something about flip flops (no matter how decorative) with a beautiful wedding dress that takes away from the romance and importance of the bride's "look". Ninety percent of our sales are from destination beach wedding brides who've realized that not only can they be barefoot (and oh-so comfy) as they stand and say their vows -– they can wear something lovely and sparkly on the tops of their feet. This concept is what drove our marketing focus in the direction we needed.

We try to keep our collection fresh and exciting, adding new colors and designs when we see what we're missing. Pearls are still very much a part of the wedding tradition so we make sure that our bridal collection contains a variety of pearl designs. Currently we're in the process of adding a few Black & White Wedding bridal footwear designs. While this theme has always been around, wedding coordinators are seeing a slight re-emergence of the 40's classic style and old Hollywood glitz & glamour. One design is made with black and Swarovski crystal beads and the other with black beads and cream pearls. In addition, with spring and summer wedding season approaching we consulted with one of the top wedding coordinators -– Linnyette Richardson-Hall from Premiere Event Management in Baltimore, MD. Since planning weddings are such a large part of her business, she sees and hears what brides want as color themes. For the 2009 season she's seeing the orange/pink combo as well as orange/tiffany blue. Navy and yellow is another pairing that she's seeing brides use.

Another concept we're focusing on is making brides and bridesmaids aware that there IS an alternative to wearing those gorgeous (but tight-fitting heels) all day and all night on the wedding day. I'm sure you've attended many weddings where the bride and her bridesmaids kick off their heels and dance barefoot. What better opportunity to slip into a pair of Swarovski crystal barefoot sandals? A special pair just for the bride and matching sandals for the bridesmaids in the colors that match their dresses will keep them accessorized (and comfortable) as they dance the night away!

Who are your favorite designers? I love sexy shoes -– always have. A pair of sexy heels brings out the woman in me. Legs were meant to be seen and the style of the shoe makes a world of difference. I'm a fan of Salvatore Ferragamo, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik (although their designs are a bit over MY budget). Their feminine styles transform a woman's nice legs into gorgeous legs. Daniela Swaebe is also fabulous jewelry designer, whose pieces are incredibly beautiful. And a jewelry designer I just learned about, Lisa Pavelka, who creates some fabulous jewelry with beads and clay.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? For me personally, I MUST have my lip liner and my eye makeup! I can't leave the house without putting on lipstick and doing my eye makeup. A little eye liner, mascara, eyebrow pencil and a little shadow in the outer corner for depth. Everyone who knows me will attest to that. I have small eyes so when I started wearing eye makeup I learned a few tricks on how to make my eyes appear larger. I also wear aqua-tinted contact lenses -– every little bit helps! And lip liner helps define my lips and my smile. As far as fashion, I LOVE dresses and I'm SO happy to see that the new spring and summer styles are much more feminine than last year. Designers are using more vibrant colors rather than the black and white I saw everywhere last year. I enjoy dressing up for work -– makes me feel like the woman I am.

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? You bet! If you have that fire and passion to create something, follow it. It's a gift. Get opinions, network and go after the right people who can put your creations in front of those who need to see them. I can't stress the "passion factor" enough. I learned in a class sponsored by the San Diego office of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (S.C.O.R.E.) on "How to Start and Manage Your Own Business" that to be successful in any business venture you have to have a genuine passion for what you're doing. If you have that ... the money will follow. Even after over five years in business, the fire is still there, burning just as bright!

Where can people find your work? You can find Jewels by Jan Barefoot Sandals on a number of web sites (several wedding web sites) but our own site is http://www.jewels-by-jan.com. We're listed in several online drop-ship directories and through those listings, we've set up numerous wholesalers with all the information they need to sell our products. We have an online store at Girl Shop Spot and we've just added another online store on the Black Shopping Channel Online Mall. You can also find our bridal footwear at an exclusive retail boutique in Maui at The Shops at Wailea called "The Enchantress Boutique" and also at "Bikinilicious", an upscale swimwear boutique in the ultra-modern, island city of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. So ... you just never know where you're going to find Jewels by Jan beaded foot jewelry!


We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.